


The Lost Gem's Tale

by manga_ranga, SonOfOrpheus



Series: Fire and Snow [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2016-04-08
Packaged: 2018-04-12 12:46:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4479731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manga_ranga/pseuds/manga_ranga, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonOfOrpheus/pseuds/SonOfOrpheus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of the Fire and Snow fan series being co-written by myself and Manga Ranga! </p><p>Fire Opal is a very old ally of Rose Quartz, left dormant for many years he is finally free and regenerated. But the world he has entered is far from the one he knew at Rose's side... Now in the company of his leader's son: Steven Universe, the former scientist still has a lot of learning to do!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The waves gently lapped against the bleached white sand, giant picturesque clouds drifted lazily across the midday sky. Seagulls turned lazy figure eights over the pristine beach all was peaceful and quiet in Beach City. 

Until a series of screams and loud explosions echoed from the other side of the massive cliff facing the ocean. Three figures sprinted at full force around the bend, being hotly pursued by a fourth that seemed to waver and destabilize every few steps. 

“It's copying Pearl, watch out!” the shortest figure, a young boy with curly black hair shouted, his pink t-shirt with a large yellow star emblem on it was covered in sand and mud from his hasty retreat. Well worn jeans were showing even more wear and tear, with one flip-flop remaining of what used to be a pair. The wavering figure turned to him and aimed a glowing pearly-white spear in his direction, three blasts of energy launched forward, only to be deflected by a circular pink shield that the young boy summoned out of thin air.

“STEVEN!” a thin, white skinned woman cried, her blue eyes wide with fright. Reaching to the glowing oblong pearl embedded in her forehead she drew a shimmering spear identical to the one currently being wielded by their attacker. “Get away from him you... you... thing!” she screeched, hurling her spear towards her doppelganger. 

Sidestepping the spear, the creature blinked once, before summoning a spear to both hands and beginning to launch them in a frenzy of blades. Moving with inhuman flexibility and the grace of a dancer, Pearl summoned another spear and nimbly evaded the barrage with a series of pirouettes and acrobatic flips. 

Increasing the size of his shield, Steven moved forward, laughing as the spears bounced off the rose colored surface. Covering Pearl, Steven smiled and noted “Well, now we know that my shield can block your spear!” to which the tall, thin gem blushed and ruffled his hair in a motherly fashion.

 

There came a war cry from the other side of the beach, and a long, amethyst encrusted whip lashed out and surrounded the creature. Halting the onslaught of spears, but no sooner had the whip taken hold than the creature took the form of it's assailant: a squat violet gem with a mane of silver hair. Pulling a whip of its own, it grabbed the purple warrior and flung her behind Steven and Pearl. 

“Amethyst!” Pearl cried, “are you okay?”

“I think I swallowed a seashell...” the purple gem coughed, shaking the sand from her mane. “So, whenever someone touches this thing it turns into them?”

“Looks like it, it can even copy their weapons proficiency!” Pearl noted, 

There was another battle cry from the opposite end of the beach as two more gems sprinted at full tilt towards the shape-shifting gem monster. The gem in the lead was a tall male figure dressed in a finely cut azure suit with electric green trim and lining. His turquoise hair was cut relatively short in the front, with a long flowing ponytail trailing behind him. Grasped in his hands was an ornate halberd adorned with glittering blue and green opals. 

Following closely behind him was a female gem with a tremendous square afro, her orchid and pink bodysuit was stylized with a star logo, and a pair of massive, gem encrusted gauntlets were over her hands. She struck a dance like pose and launched both gauntlets like missiles, knocking the gem monster backwards, as the blue gem leapt skyward and prepared the finishing blow with a cry of “I've got this, Garnet!”

Or he would have, if the monster hadn't sidestepped his swing, leading him to bury his halberd into a stone, sticking it fast and effectively disarming him. 

“Oh bugger...” the blue gem groaned, before being ensnared with the duplicated whip and launched skyward. 

“Fire Opal!” Garnet yelled, “Blast it from above!”

The blue gem spun and aimed the gem embedded in his left palm downward, the blue and green flecks began to glow brightly. “And... NOW!” Fire Opal cheered, unleashing a hail of blue and green energy blasts downward. The shapeshifted scrambled to avoid the attacks, Fire Opal laughed and landed behind Steven, Pearl, and Amethyst.

“Cool! You can shoot laser blasts from your gem?” Steven asked, his irises taking on a star shape and seeming to glimmer with excitement. 

“Yeah,” the male gem grinned, blushing a light teal, “it's a little trick I picked up a few thousand years ago, massively effective, but...” he shuddered as a ripple went through his form, his body momentarily blurring like television static. “But it messes with my human construct.” he groaned, steadying himself. 

Pearl and Fire Opal locked eyes and immediately broke out into a grin, they had just formed the perfect plan for taking out this copycat foe...

After drawing Garnet away from her repeated attempts to blast the monster, their plan went into action. Amethyst and Steven ran to one side and yelled at the monster, flinging rocks and shells at it, the instant it turned, Garnet grabbed Fire Opal up and hurled him full force at the corrupted gem. Shape-shifting into a large missile Fire Opal impacted the gem and reverted to his human shape, pinning the Amethyst duplicate down. 

Almost instantly it shifted into his own visage, Fire Opal chuckled and ran back a few paces, “you think that's impressive? Watch THIS!” Throwing his arms to the side Fire laughed and created ten holographic duplicates of himself, which immediately rushed the gem with a group cheer.

The gem reacted exactly as he had hoped: copying his power and summoning ten duplicates of its own. Goading the monster on and on, he began summoning more and more copies. Feeling himself weaken a little as each holo-clone burst into being, he grinned as he saw a telltale flicker run through his opponent. 

“Just a little more!” he panted, summoning a dozen more clones, there was barely any standing room left on the beach, thousands of unmoving facsimiles stood like statues. Finally, the corrupted gem let out a pained screech and rippled violently, it's form regressing back to default: a blank puppet with a glowing orange gem in it's chest. Before exploding into a cloud of shimmering mist, leaving the gem resting on the sand. 

“Thank goodness that...” but Fire Opal didn't get to finish, his own form released itself in a cloud of blue mist, leaving his gem twinkling faintly next to his fallen adversary.

“BLUE!” Steven screamed, rushing towards the fallen gem, small tears forming in the corner of his eyes. Turning to Garnet, Steven held up the blue and green gem and asked, “what happened? He didn't even get hurt!”

Garnet bent down and gently tapped the orange gem, encasing it in a reddish bubble that quickly vanished, warping itself to the Crystal Temple for safekeeping. “Sometimes if a gem exerts too much energy, or stretches their limits too far, they have to release their physical form to recover for a while, just like if they were to get injured” her soft British dialect reassured the young gem, “Fire Opal will be back in no time, don't you worry”

Looking down at the dormant form of his friend, Steven nodded, gently cradling the gemstone in his hands he turned and strolled towards the beach house with the other three gems. The beach once again was tranquil and quiet with no trace of the battle. Save for the one rock bearing a neat gash in it from the missed halberd strike...

 

Several hours later, Steven sat in his room, boredly flipping through the various TV channels he usually enjoyed, but today there was simply nothing to capture his attention. Letting a particularly loud groan and turning off the TV when a Lion Lickers commercial flashed up, he turned his attention to the blue and green gemstone resting on a cushion next to him. 

“I wish you'd hurry up, I miss having a video game buddy to play with while everyone else is busy” Steven sighed, 

Almost as if in response, the gem was bathed in a warm glow, a mass of white energy shaped around it, before taking a basic human outline. With a ruffle of fabric Fire Opal's suit reformed, and the blue gem gave a loud yawn, stretching as he finished his regeneration.

“Blue! You're back!” Steven whooped, calling Fire Opal by the nickname he had given him due to his dazzling color scheme, and tackling the reformed gem into a hug, “I thought you were gonna stay poofed forever, what happened back there?” he inquired, 

Blue blushed again and chuckled nervously, “well, you see I was never really that much of a fighter back in the rebellion days” he admitted, “I usually worked behind the scenes, building weaponry, and researching different strategies and technologies that your mum used to gain the upper hand” he noted, 

“so that's why you always seem really nervous when the gems ask you to help take out a monster, you're still learning how to do it, just like me!” Steven grinned, 

Blue grinned back and ruffled a hand through Steven's curly hair; wrapping his young friend in a hug he smiled, “yeah, just like you”


	2. Starlit Memories

Later that evening, after the Gems had returned home from their mission, Fire Opal and Steven sat on the porch of the beach house, Fire Opal was using his gem to project scenes from the history of Beach City for the younger Gem. The sky danced with imagery of long-dead Gem technology, and a hologram filled in the missing pieces of the temple as well. Steven was seeing his home the way his own mother had seen it thousands of years ago...

“And then, your mother and the Crystal Gems set up a base here, Gems by the score who followed her cause came here to live and work in harmony.” he swept the beam of his projection around the beach, showing the images of thousands of Gems from days gone by. “I wish you could have seen it” he sighed wistfully. 

“You and my mom were really good friends, huh?” Steven asked, his eyes still glimmering with amazement at the light show.

“Oh yes, I met Rose Quartz back on homeworld, before either of us had even heard of the Earth” he smiled, “She was a brilliant leader, and the best military strategist in the cosmos, it was an honor to build weapons for her” 

“B... but war wasn't the only thing you two had in common, right?” Steven chuckled nervously, looking at Fire Opal's projection of the various weapons he had created. 

“Oh of course not,” the blue Gem grinned, “after we arrived on this planet, Rose and I took great pleasure in studying the natural wonders around us, and nothing captured my attention more than how different the stars were here” he smiled, “We spent a century naming each and every star, planet, and constellation we could find” 

“So you and my Mom named the planets?” Steven gasped delightedly, “Why did you pick names like Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter?” he wondered,

Fire Opal laughed heartily, “I said that we named them, I never said the ones we used stuck” he grinned, “we named them after Gems that we knew, or famous Gems long passed” an image of the planet Neptune flashed up in Fire's projection, “for instance, before it became known as “Neptune”, Rose and I named it “Sodalite” for it's rich blue color and white streaks.”

“How did you know what it looked like? Telescopes hadn't been invented yet!” Steven probed, 

“True, but we still had access to Gem-ships” Fire Opal noted, “Rose, Pearl, and I loved going out for a spin during lulls in the fighting” 

Pearl strolled out and regarded the two on the deck, “Sorry you two, but story time is over” she smiled, “Steven needs to go to bed”

“Aww, but he was telling me about how you, mom, and him would go out into space and name planets!” Steven whined, “can't I stay up for one more story?”

Pearl blushed a light blue and smiled, “oh those were grand adventures,” she smiled, her gem projecting an image of the trio of them standing before the rings of Saturn. The projection flickered out as quickly as it had come, “But there will be time for more stories later” she nodded, “for now you need sleep”

Waving goodnight to Steven, Fire Opal gently leapt atop the roof, he heard the sounds of the young Gem getting ready for bed, and smiled as the lights clicked off. Seconds later, Pearl lit on the roof next to him, 

“You must really miss her” Fire noted, patting Pearl's hand gently, 

“I miss her more each and every day” Pearl admitted, “Before Steven came along, I couldn't picture life without Rose, but now I couldn't imagine the world without Steven.”

“The boy is a lot like his mother” Fire noted, projecting the image of both Rose, and Steven from his gem, “he certainly has her sense of wonder, and taste for adventure!”

“Yes, but for every similarity to Rose, Steven is equally unique” Pearl added, projecting the images of her younger self, and a much younger Fire Opal as well. “I'm not even sure if he and I CAN fuse like Rose and I used to” she sighed, watching the holo Pearl and Rose spin together, the holograms bursting into shimmering pixels before the fusion completed.

“At least you two fused” he chuckled, “Rose and I were never that close with each other, so I have utterly no idea who we would’ve been together.”

“It's probably for the better,” Pearl noted, “we always tell Steven that fusion is only for the most dire of emergencies” she shuddered, “and trust me, we're all better off following that rule”

Fire Opal nodded, before leaping down and quietly entering the house, “Goodnight Pearl!” He waved, to the white Gem as she strolled in behind him and made her way to the temple gate. Glancing to the sleeping form of Steven, Pearl entered her door with an absentminded wave. Now alone, save for the sleeping boy, Fire Opal stretched out on the couch, with a flash his tuxedo changed into a set of finely tailored silk pajamas. And despite the fact that Gems didn't need sleep, he found himself soon dozing peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit shorter than the first chapter, but I feel like this serves as a nice little interlude before things start to get exciting in the next chapter. 
> 
> Also hinting to Fire's reluctance to fuse... a definite theme for later on.


	3. Squids, Surprises, and Secrets

The following morning, Steven awoke to a merry humming coming from the kitchen, sleepily stumbling down the stairs the young boy saw Fire Opal busily puttering about the kitchen, his usual suit coat had been abandoned in lieu of a crisp white chef's jacket, with a matching toque. Amethyst was watching the tall blue Gem's work eagerly, with a delighted cry Fire summoned a pair of oven mits to his hands and produced three perfect soufflés from the oven.

“Et voila!” the male gem declared triumphantly, “three chocolate soufflés, the perfect start to any growing Gem's day!”

At the mention of the word “chocolate” Amethyst's eyes widened and she began groping for the steaming confections “gimmee gimmee gimmee!” she growled, only to be swatted by a frying pan.

“Not until I add the finishing touches” Fire admonished, before gently sprinkling a dusting of powdered sugar over the three delicacies. Noticing Steven standing at the counter (and ignoring Amethyst trying to remove her face from the now dented frying pan) Fire beamed, “Ah, good morning sleepy-Gem, just in time for brunch!”

“Chocolate for breakfast?” Steven gasped delightedly, his eyes going starry again, “Pearl NEVER lets me eat something like this for breakfast!”

“Well, Pearl said that I was in charge while she and Garnet went out to see about a sea monster in Finland” Fire noted, “So I figured we could break a few rules while Pearl and the G-Squad are away” he winked, “Now dig in before they get cold!”

After the trio had finished their soufflés, they decided to make their way to the beach for a day spent relaxing on the sand. Fire Opal was absentmindedly flicking through a book Connie had lent him, while Amethyst and Steven laughed and splashed in the surf.

Dodging another splash attack by Amethyst, Steven giggled and swung his arm in a wide arc, generating a small wave in the water that soaked the purple gem even further. Suddenly, a weird tickling sensation on his foot drew his attention down, and he noticed a small green octopus clutching to his toes with its slimy arms.

“Aw, look Amethyst! I made a new friend!” he smiled, bending down and picking up the squirming sea creature, “what should we call hi... MMPH!” Steven let out a muffled shriek as the octopus leapt onto his face, Amethyst quickly ripped it free and punted it onto the beach. The two gems were suddenly aware that dozens more of the green creatures were headed their way,

“Woah mama!” Amethyst yelped, “These little guys are everywhere!” she punched three more octopi away, her eyes widening as one exploded into mist before her. “Oh boy... these aren't normal squids, they're baby monsters!”

“Technically they're not Squi... AAAH!” Steven screamed as another octopus latched onto his arm, dashing out of the waves he ripped the creature free and flung it... right onto Fire Opal.

Fire looked up in time to witness a beaked mouth screaming right for him, in one deft move the blue gem summoned his halberd from his palm, and slashed the creature in two. Confusedly looking around for a gem after he poofed it, he asked “uh... Steven, don't these things usually drop gems?”

Steven kicked another octopus into oblivion and looked around, “hey, yeah they do! What gives?” he wondered, watching Amethyst finish off the remaining few with a well-placed whiplash. “Where are the gemstones Amethyst?” he called out,  
Amethyst looked around and shrugged, “I don’t know, they poof like normal gems but there isn’t anything inside… You don’t think they’re like those centipeedles from last year, do you?” she wondered,

“If that’s the case… we might want to head back to the beach house until Garnet and Pearl get back” Fire Opal noted, “I’m not sure if the three of us could handle a massive corrupted Gem like that on our own” he nervously chuckled, only to be met with the sounds of screaming coming from the boardwalk. 

“We gotta make sure they have something to come back TO!” Amethyst gasped, taking off in the direction of the screams.

“Steven, maybe you should head back to the house and let us handle this” Fire noted, hesitantly drawing his halberd with a flourish. “I’m not sure I like the idea of you putting yourself in danger like this” he added nervously, his stance indicating that he himself wasn’t all too thrilled with the thought of battle.

Steven drew his shield and gave Fire a confident thumbs up, “don’t worry, we’ve got this all under control!” he cheered, “just imagine how proud Garnet will be when she sees you helped poof another gem without her around!” And before Fire could retort that he had also been poofed the last mission, Steven was sprinting down the beach after Amethyst.

Sighing to himself, Fire Opal made a flourishing gesture with his left hand and projected a holographic image of himself. Quickly slicing the projection beam away the hologram took a solid form and turned to its creator, pupil-less blue eyes stared back at him “Awaiting command” it droned in a hollow monotone.

“Asses risk of current situation, and remove Rose Quartz from the danger zone if threat becomes too high” Fire Opal commanded, “Rose’s safety is maximum priority” he noted, forgetting to call Steven by his proper name out of habit. He steeled himself and sprinted after his teammates;

“Command accepted, initiating combat subroutine beta” Holo-Opal chimed, forming a transparent halberd and following after his master. 

The boardwalk was in a state of chaos, a massive octopi-like gem monster was slithering from the sea, its tentacles gripping both the supports, and some of the buildings as it emerged from the sea. Lars and Sadie screamed and fled from the Big Donut just as Amethyst and Steven arrived to see the gem picking up the tables outside and launching them further down the boardwalk. 

“Oh no, Lars and Sadie just finished repairing those!” Steven cried, “HEY! QUIT WRECKING MY FRIENDS STUFF” the young gem yelled, flinging his shield like a discus and striking a tentacle away from the side of the convenience store. The octopus screeched in pain and slammed the tentacle down, shattering the table and throwing Steven down onto the sand. “Ow… Sand burn…” the younger gem groaned, rubbing the part of his chest now scraped raw by the abrasive surface.

Amethyst leapt into action, ensnaring the dumpster from behind the building, she flung it like a wrecking ball directly at the creature’s head. Stunning it, and temporarily disorienting the beast as the dumpster obscured its vision. Fire Opal swung behind her, severing several tentacles and cheering as they exploded into mist. 

Steven looked up to see Holo-Opal standing over him, it’s blank eyes sent a beam of light over him, before changing to a bright glowing yellow. “Threat to Rose Quartz assessed at 98% certainty, evacuating subject from danger zone” it droned, before picking Steven up and leaping to the top of the Big Donut. “Safe zone located, initiating guard protocol” the hologram chirped, 

“What are you doing?” Steven protested, “I’ve got to get back there and help them!” he tried to sidestep the hologram, but it flickered and barred his way in the blink of an eye. 

“Request denied, prime directive is protection of Rose Quartz” the hologram deadpanned, 

“Stop calling me that, I’m Steven! Rose Quartz is my mom, so technically I’m her, or she’s me or… never mind, I’ve got to go help my friends!” Steven asserted, leaping forward, only to be snagged by the projection.

“Negative, Steven must remain with Holo-Opal, prime directive is irrefutable”

Down on the boardwalk, Amethyst and Fire Opal were wildly dodging the tentacle strikes of the still blinded monster, finally the beast shrugged the dumpster off, seized both gems, and flung them skyward. Sending them crashing down on top of the Big Donut, right next to Steven.

“This isn’t working, we need someone stronger than the two of us” Fire Opal groaned, picking himself up, “Holo-Opal, get down there and keep that monster busy any way you can until we find out how to stop it”

“Yes master, I obey!” the holo-drone noted before leaping down and engaging the creature.

“That hologram can’t hold it off forever” Amethyst sighed, “if only Garnet was here, she’s stronger than the both of us combined…” she trailed off, an idea forming in her mind. Steven gasped, going starry eyed at the realization of what Amethyst was suggesting.

“Why are you both staring at me like that?” Fire wondered, “Do I have another baby squid stuck to me?” he asked, turning around to inspect himself.

“Blue, there’s only one way to take this sucker down” Amethyst noted, “let’s mesh it up!” she cheered,

Blue took a step back, “Y… you mean you want me to fuse, with you?” he chuckled nervously, blushing a bright blue, “I dunno, it’s been a few thousand years since I last… and it didn’t go too hot” he shuddered, “Are you sure we can’t do it as us?”

“C’mon, just trust me, I know we can do it!” Amethyst grinned, “You’re really smart, and I’m super-duper tough, so together we’ll be a Gem-poofing machine!” she held out her hand. “Just trust me”

Fire Opal looked from Amethyst, to Steven, and then down to the monster below, trying in vain to smash the flickering hologram. Sighing deeply he steeled himself, “Alright, let’s do this” he grinned, 

Taking their positions across from one another, Blue and Amethyst bowed, their gems illuminating as they went. Steven sat cross legged on the ground, eagerly awaiting the display of magical power,

Amethyst moved first, twisting her body to and fro in a rhythmic shimmy, her hair flipping behind her as she fell into rhythm with her partner. Fire Opal made a sweeping turn with his feet, before pirouetting in to take Amethyst by the hands. The two gems quickstepped about the rooftop, the tempo of their dance growing faster and faster as they fell into sync. Finally with an acrobatic flip, they kicked their feet behind them in a fast swing style before Amethyst took Fire’s hand and pulled him down into a hold. 

There was an explosion of vivid green light as the two Gems flowed together into a single sphere of energy, rings of light burst forward like the rings of a planet as a human shape began to materialize. The figure was massive, at least a foot taller than Garnet, with a wild mane of hair, barely kept at bay by a single bun. With a final flash four eyes opened and the new Gem cackled in delight. A turquoise leotard with electric green stars on the knees, and a matching sash around the waist was covered by stark white lab coat with blue trim. A pair of machinist’s goggles glittered atop the gem’s head, with a purple strap that matched Amethyst’s gem.

“Beach City, please to be making ready, for the one, the only, AVENTURINE!” the four-eyed gem laughed, before bowing to the delighted Steven before her, “What does Steven Quartz think of new fusion friend? Is not too shabby for first ever try, no?” she grinned in a thick Russian accent, 

“You’ve never fused before?” Steven wondered, his eyes glittering with stars, 

“Yes, sadly Amethyst and Fire Opal did not have much time to be acquainting before, so this is Aventurine’s first time in the ring” she grinned, “Now… time to be seeing about our little friend down here.” Aventurine winked, before diving down onto the boardwalk, “hello, big green and ugly” she chuckled, “let us see how you like playing with the big girls?”

In response, the octopus grabbed the discarded dumpster and launched it at the fusion-Gem, only for Aventurine to leap up and use it as a stepping stone to go even higher. The octopus reared back and screamed, it’s beaked maw opening up to reveal a gem at the core.

“Bingo” Aventurine grinned, flinging her left hand out, she launched six glittering halberds, pinning down the remaining tentacles, one final halberd shot forward, only to be connected by a whip from Amethyst’s gem. The two weapons blurred together into a massive clawed grappling hook, before striking home in the center of the beast. Landing back atop the Big Donut, Aventurine smiled wickedly “Watch this Steven Quartz”. Before yanking with all of her might, there was a screech, an explosion of mist, and the grappling hook flew back to her hand, now clutching a glittering, spiral shaped gemstone.

“And that is how it is done” Aventurine laughed, tapping the gem and encasing it in a vivid green bubble as they strolled down the beach, one more tap sent it safely back to the temple. “Not a bad way to spend afternoon”

Aventurine began to glow, the two Gems ready to return to their normal selves, but Steven cried out “Wait! Don’t unfuse yet!” causing the Gem to quickly snap back together.

“Why not? Is Steven Quartz in another form of danger?” the green Gem wondered, her four eyes sweeping around, “there is not appearing to be any other foe nearby” she noted,

“No no, it’s not that, I just want to get to know you a little better, I mean… you’re a brand new Gem! So we might as well enjoy your time here!” he grinned, “you haven’t even met the other Gems, or… or Connie!” he added.

“When does the Connie-girl arrive?” Aventurine wondered, “She might be impressed by new fusion friend Aventurine” the giant woman grinned,  
“She should be here soon, Pearl is still out with Garnet, so she’s just coming over to play since there’s no sword training today” Steven noted, “we could play on the beach a little more? That’s what the three of us were doing before the squids showed up!”

“Sounds like fun!” Aventurine smiled, “I have very good idea how to make beach time even more fun for Steven Quartz” the fusion winked, looking up at the arm of the temple where Steven’s laundry was done “watch and learn” she giggled, 

Moving swiftly, Aventurine summoned her weapon once more and launched it skyward, the line of the grappling hook extending out as it wrapped tightly about the stone sculpture, the claw end connecting the line and making a secure hold in the statue. With a quick flick of her wrists Aventurine altered the end of the whip, creating a foothold where the handle was, a perfect rope swing now existed out over the sea. Steven let out a happy whoop before swinging over the water and landing with a somewhat graceful splash, Aventurine shucked her lab coat, her leotard serving as an effective swimsuit, and gave a battle cry as she swung out over the water. Unfortunately the cord couldn’t support the fusion’s weight, and she was left flailing a good twenty feet over the ocean as her swing suddenly snapped at the apex of her climb. Landing with a tremendous splash, the fusion surfaced, laughing hysterically as Steven paddled back to shore, riding her wake to gain speed.

A cry of surprise from the shore announced the arrival of Connie, the young human girl stared wide-eyed at the towering Gem, before drawing Rose Quartz’s sword and taking an attack stance. “Steven, its Malachite, look out!” she cried

“No, no it isn’t, her name is Aventurine!” Steven assured, “look, she is a whole new fusion,” he smiled, pointing to the two green gems upon the tall green form. “Amethyst and Fire Opal joined together to make someone brand new!”

“So, this is the first time you’ve ever existed as yourself?” Connie wondered, watching as Aventurine dried off and donned her lab-coat once more.

“That is correct, Connie-girl” Aventurine nodded, “today is very first day that Aventurine has ever existed” the green Gem smiled warmly. “Aventurine is very happy to be meeting new human friend!”

Their conversation was cut short by the chime of the warp pad, signaling the return of Garnet and Pearl, seeing nobody in the house, the two Gems walked outside, both stopping dead in their tracks as they noticed Aventurine for the first time.

“What in the name of… Amethyst?” Pearl wondered, looking at the hexagonal gem in the fusion’s chest, “you fused with Fire Opal?” leaping down to the beach Pearl began inspecting the new Gem, “wow, this is an incredibly stable fusion, you two must be really well in sync!” she noted, 

“They were awesome!” Steven cheered, “there was this big octopus thingy, and at first the three of us couldn’t stop it, but then they fused for the first time ever, and Aventurine took it out without breaking a sweat!” he laughed, eyes twinkling with stars again, “You should have seen it Garnet!” he nodded to the purple-clad fusion, who Pearl and Connie noted was grinning broadly.

“Wait… today is the first time you’ve ever formed?” Connie asked, “Oh my gosh, that makes today your birthday!” she grinned, Steven immediately picking up on her excitement began hopping up and down, 

“Oh, oh my gosh, we’ve got to throw you a party! It’s your very first birthday!” he whooped, “We’ll have cake and games, and ice cream…”

“We can invite all our friends from Beach City!” Connie added, dancing around with Steven,

“Wait!” Pearl interrupted, “We don’t want to get too crazy, remember the last time you tried throwing a Gem a birthday party?” she noted wisely, only for Garnet to step in, her visor glinting merrily in the sun,

“Pearl is right, let’s just keep it between us and Connie, okay Steven?” she reassured, “This will be a great team bonding exercise for all of us, and the less humans involved, the more awesome the party games can be” she lifted her visor, displaying three eyes and winked to them, “Just imagine Steven-tag with TWO fusions” she chuckled,

“Alright! Let’s go get the stuff for the party!” Steven cheered, he and Connie were scooped up by Aventurine and carried down the beach as the trio laughed excitedly.

A short time later, once the trio had gathered the necessary party supplies, Aventurine was decked out in Steven’s traditional “Birthday Suit” consisting of a flowing cape and a large crown. The green Gem practically glowed with excitement as the others sang “Happy Birthday dear Aventurine, Happy Birthday to you!”

Just before Aventurine blew out the candle on her cake, a deep ringing sound came from the beach house, the Gems and Connie all froze. 

“What IS that?” Pearl wondered, clasping her ears with her hands, 

“It sounds like an alarm!” Connie grimaced, covering her ears as well, “but what is it coming from?”

“The Wailing Stone!” Garnet realized, only to be cut off by a shocked gasp from Aventurine,

“That’s my… no our… no his…” the fusion stammered, her eyes crossing in a daze, standing up the gem groaned “I’m sorry… aaaaaaaah!”  
There was a flash of green light as her form began to distend and warp, there was a loud snapping sound as Blue and Amethyst separated with a bang, the birthday costume landing in the sand as the tall blue gem sprinted to the temple.

“Blue, wait up, what’s going on!” Steven cried out, “You’re leaving the party!”

“I’m so sorry Steven” Fire Opal sighed, “but that alarm means something awful is happening, someone has found my lab, and if it’s who I believe it to be, I have to stop them” he struck a fighting stance, and with a chime of the warp pad, he was gone in a flash of light.

Connie and Pearl reached the warp pad seconds later, “Where did he go?” the tall Gem wondered,

“To his lab, he said,” Steven sighed, “He said someone was trying to get in to it, is that bad?” the young gem asked before noticing the fear in Pearl’s eyes…

“Yes… yes it is” she whispered, “If someone gets ahold of the weapons he designed… it is very bad indeed"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a little longer than I'd planned to get this chapter finalized, school, the holidays and personal stuff kept me largely away from my laptop. But I'm very pleased to introduce the FIRST of our OC Fusion Gems, Aventurine!


	4. Homecoming Horror

Weeks would go by without a trace of the blue Gem, with Steven growing more and more concerned by the day. Eventually a new member of their household came to be in the form of a paranoid Homeworld Gem named Peridot. This new addition to the team, while abrasive at first, soon proved invaluable to the Crystal Gems and became a new ally and part of the team after defying the likes of Yellow Diamond to her face. Returning to the temple during a lull in the drill project, Steven and Peridot were discussing the erstwhile missing Fire Opal.

“And you mean to tell me there was a certified Homeworld technician here, who outranks every single one of us, and you just LOST him!” the diminutive green Gem squawked.

“He left a few weeks before we found you again, and he’s not back yet” Steven noted, “apparently some really bad Gems he used to know are trying to find his old laboratory, and he went to stop them. Pearl wouldn’t tell me much, but apparently there’s lots of really dangerous Gem-tech there that if the Black Diamonds got ahold of, they could really hurt people on Earth.”

“Who are these Black Diamonds you speak of?” Peridot wondered, “I never heard of them while I was working for the Authority back on…”

Their conversation was cut short by the chime of the warp pad, a tall figure stumbled out of the light stream and staggered down to the two shocked Gems. 

“Blue! You’re…” Steven stopped midsentence, his friend was ragged and battle torn, and a large blade was protruding through his chest.

“Managed to seal the laboratory, and gave them the slip at last…” he coughed weakly, “they got one last hit before I warped away, but thankfully they couldn’t track…” he gave a weak moan before exploding into a cloud of blue and green mist. Moving quickly Steven caught the falling gemstone and cradled it in his hands.

Peridot walked over to the fallen blade and carefully picked it up, “curious” she muttered, “this isn’t a naturally generated Gem weapon, someone forged this with the express purpose of… OW!” she shrieked, throwing the blade down as her hand touched the blade, momentarily destabilizing before returning to its regular shape. “With the purpose of disrupting the natural forms of any Gem it contacts” she finished.

“Like those Gem-destabilizer thingies you and Jasper had on the ship?” Steven wondered,

“Their functions are similar, but the destabilizers were designed for short term incapacitation, these seem to be directed at triggering a full regeneration of the Gem affected”

Carefully, Steven bubbled the blade and floated it over to one side of the room, “I better leave that alone until Blue reforms and can tell us more about it” he sighed, “He’s never been forced to regenerate like this, I don’t know how long it’ll take for him to come back. Whenever he faints it’s only a couple hours, but this could take way longer” he shrugged, looking at the dormant gemstone lying on the floor.

Many days would pass with no stirring from the fallen Fire Opal, Steven kept the gemstone with him at all times, even sleeping with it on a pillow next to his head at night. Just so he wouldn’t miss the return of the fallen scientist. The seventh day came and went, and Steven lay down in the bed of the truck, the gentle sounds of the night surrounded the family barn, and very soon the young Gem was fast asleep.

The world around him swam with light and color, different shades of green and blue flowed about, each more brilliant than the last. Steven gave a soft gasp as he realized he was floating through this seemingly endless void. A soft whimper led him to an island of glittering green stone floating in the sea of colors.  
“Hello? Is anyone…” he stopped midsentence, running towards him was a very familiar face, “BLUE!”

“ROSE!” the tall Gem screamed, “what are you doing here, how are you even?” he seemed to shudder, his form flickering. “it doesn’t matter, you’ve got to get away from here, from me!”

“What’s the matter?” Steven asked, eyes wide with fear and concern, “you just got poofed, it’s all going to be alright in no time!”

“You don’t get it, being near her… being near that monster, made something wake up inside me, it’s like a part of that awful beast stayed with me after we… AGH!” he howled, his features flickering as his gemstone seemed to grow dark, glowing with unearthly colors as something seemed to be leaking out of it. “Steven…” Fire Opal whimpered, his body slowly being overtaken by the swirls of dark color, one eye glowing with a frenzy of rainbow colors, “They’re coming, they’re coming after you, she knows where I went… RUN!” he gave one last howl as his body reverted to a glowing silhouette, arms and legs sprouting in all directions. The shape seemed to waver and shudder like it was trying to force itself apart. Finally the process was complete, five eyes shone from a mangled face, with long tendrils of hair lashing in every direction, armor plates and malformed spikes jutted at every angle, giving the beast the appearance of having multiple screaming mouths, four extra arms scuttled about like the fusion of hatred that was Malachite. Steven froze, a name burst into his mind that he didn’t know the origin of, but it fit the colors of the demonic figure before him: “Rainbow Obsidian”

“RUN!” the beast howled, jarring Steven from his sleep, and knocking the gemstone next to him onto the floor with a clatter. The Crystal Gems and Peridot dashed into the room after hearing his scream, 

“What’s wrong?” Pearl asked, arms protectively curling around him, “another Malachite dream?” she wondered,

“I saw them, I saw what Blue and Snowy made together” Steven shivered, “I saw Rainbow Obsidian, and he told me they were coming to get us” he whimpered,

A blinding light illuminated the room, Fire Opal’s gemstone levitated into the air, a vaguely human silhouette emerged from the mass of light. The puppet like figure developed a shaggy head of hair, his outfits ruffled through various iterations before settling to the familiar form Steven knew, and returning to normal with a soft flash. The new trait that all the Gems noted was a small pink star clip holding his ponytail in place, as well as a glittering blue star belt buckle that was obscured by his vest when he dropped to the ground.

“Blue!” Steven yelped, tackling the regenerated Gem, “I thought you were gone for good!” he fretted, hugging the startled Gem all the tighter.

“What happened between you and the Black Diamonds?” Pearl wondered, “how did you manage to escape them?”  
“Did you find your old laboratory?” Amethyst interrupted,  
“What about Snowflake Obsidian?” Garnet noted,

“Hold on, hold on,” Blue gasped, standing up, “let me get my head back on straight, it’s been too long since I’ve had a proper regeneration” he shuddered before taking note of Peridot and drawing his halberd in a whirl, “state your name, rank, and intention Homeworld Gem” he growled, backing her against the wall. Ignoring the cries of protest from the Crystal Gems, and Steven’s claims of “She’s with us now!”

“P… Peridot, Facet 2F5L, Cut 5XG” she squeaked, “former Homeworld gem technician, and certified kindergartener, current Crystal Gem tech advisor”

“A Peridot eh?” he wondered, dispersing his halberd with a flourish, “they were just beginning to put those into production when I left Homeworld, basically a pearl 2.0 if I remember the specs” he scoffed, “but if the Crystal Gems trust you, I guess I can too” he looked her over, “apologies, I’ve just had a very unpleasant encounter with some Homeworld-loyal assassins, so you can understand my dismay as to seeing another diamond so soon”

Turning to the Gems he noted, “sadly what Steven said before my regeneration is true, the Black Diamonds know where we are, and if I am not mistaken, they will be returning to try and destroy Rose, so we must be prepared…”

“Prepared for what?” Steven wondered bluntly, 

“War” Blue said solemnly, looking to his comrades, “all-out war”. 

Far away from the barn, three darkened figures gathered around a glowing crystal pedestal. The low ceilinged room was illuminated by gentle trickles of magma that seeped from the walls, and flowed through channels in the subterranean base.

“It is decided then, in three days’ time we infiltrate the traitor base, kidnap Rose Quartz, and bring her shards to Black Diamond as a trophy.” An emotionless voice stated, her gem was placed in her forehead, but showed no signs of illumination or life like other Gems did. 

“Excellent, we can pick my sword back up from that misshapen scientist wannabe as well” a purple gem cackled, her gemstone was roughly cut and embedded over her right breastplate. She anxiously sharpened a pair of wicked looking claw blades as she paced back and forth “that was a gift from our diamond for shattering those foolish jaspers that failed to stop the rebels for Blue Diamond.” She sighed, remembering the carnage fondly.

The third Gem remained silent, she instead allowed her mind to drift backwards to the escape of the rebel scientist she had originally been assigned to capture:

The two Gems sprinted through a canyon, Fire Opal just barely ahead of Snowflake Obsidian.  
“Get back here you traitorous clod!” she swore, “the sooner you surrender and answer to Black Diamond, the better!” she chided, “our Diamond will surely show mercy to such a brilliant inventor” she noted mockingly.

“When will you get it through your thick, chrysobalite infested head, that that monster is just using you?” Fire Opal shouted back, “I’ve heard the legends, and seen what was left of your former teammates” he shuddered, “the minute a Diamond has no more use for a Gem, they’re as good as shattered! It doesn’t matter which, Blue, Yellow, White, or Black, the instant you fail them, they’ll crush you and order a new model to take your place!” he pleaded, “just see reason for once in your miserable…” he froze, a black bladed sword piercing through him before his declaration had finished. Swinging wide with his halberd he poofed Fluorite, her claws clattering to the ground before vanishing.

Staggering backwards onto the warp pad, he looked to her sadly, before placing a small device onto the pad and vanishing in a flash of light. The instant the light cleared, there was a deafening explosion as the pad was destroyed, preventing them from following him.

“Snowflake Obsidian, are you listening to me?” the emotionless leader demanded, bringing her out of her pondering, 

“Forgive me Tachylite” she bowed, “I was planning how best to capture, or if necessary, dispose of the Fire Opal that has allied himself with Rose Quartz.”

“A valid concern” Tachylite noted, “but fret not my sister, soon these, Crystal Gems…” she spat, “will fall; and the Earth will tremble before the might of Black Diamond!”

As her comrades laughed, assured of their impending victory, Snowflake Obsidian reflected on the blue Gem’s words, and with the seeds of uncertainty blossoming in her mind, prayed to the stars that his foretelling would be wrong…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for this section of our story! 
> 
> I know it was rather short, but rest assured that many more adventures await our heroes as they prepare to tackle the threat of the Black Diamonds head on!


End file.
